ispend Christmas with Melanie
by seddie4thewin
Summary: Melanie is back in Seattle and Freddie may or may not be falling for her. Will her sister's presence be all it takes for Sam to realize her true feelings for the boy she left behind and open up her heart to him?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I originally wrote this over the Christmas holiday, but I kept working on revising it until now. In my other stories I've written about Freddie following Sam to L.A., but what if he stayed in Seattle and another gorgeous blonde (who still likes him) suddenly gets thrown into the mix. Will he end up falling for said blonde or will she only help him to realize how badly he wants to be with her sister. **

**I know this might not be a popular pairing because, lets face it, Seddie rules. I just wanted to try something different. This won't be a long drawn out story, just 6 or 7 chapters, depending on how well everyone likes it. Please, no hate on the subject matter, it's just a story and if you read it till the end, I think you'll like where it goes.**

**By the way: I don't own iCarly or any of these characters. **

Prologue: It's been almost two years since Sam left Seattle. Freddie had only heard from her a couple of times. The first time, she needed help tracking some d-bag that was bad mouthing her business online. Then her roommate called and made up some bs story about her getting hit by an SUV. He dropped everything and went to L.A. that time. If she was hurt, he NEEDED to be there for her. Turned out Sam wasn't really hurt, but _he_ ended up in the emergency room before he knew what hit him.

Sure, the blonde and him hung out a little after he got out of the hospital. He even thought that maybe they had a chance at being a couple again, but he had to get back to Seattle for college and with another Christmas rolling around and still no indication that she was thinking of coming home, Freddie has all but given up hope. He tried to date other girls since she left. He even left Gibby set him up a couple of times, because, for some unknown reason, Gibby has a way with the ladies, but it just never felt right to date anyone else.

A few months ago, Freddie began his sophomore year at Seattle U. When he was younger, he always thought he'd go to a more prestigious school, but deep down inside, he didn't really want to leave Seattle. There was always some little voice telling him that Sam would return and they could be together again.

Carly had called Freddie and told him she was worried about her brother and asked him to be a friend to Spencer, especially over the holidays. So over Thanksgiving break, Freddie began to spend more time with Spencer. The elder Shay sibling was miserable after getting dumped by the woman he had been dating for nearly two years. Since the breakup, he had immersed himself in his work and rarely left the apartment, growing facial hair and eating nothing but junk food and drinking strong coffee to keep himself going.

After the two men began hanging out, Spencer seemed to begin to pull out of his funk. He shaved almost every day and quit living on chips, pizza and coffee. Freddie invited him to spend Christmas with him and Marissa. Spencer politely (and wisely) declined, citing a trip to Yakima to visit his ailing grandfather. The guys played video games and watched sci-fi movies together several times a week. They even video chatted with Carly a couple of times. As a benefit of spending time with Spencer, Freddie was able to get his mind off how much he missed a certain blonde that he kept wishing would come home for the holidays but now hardly ever even called him.

Freddie knew he was going to be bored out of his mind over Christmas break, especially when Spencer went to Yakima. For a short while he even contemplated going to L.A. to visit Sam, but she was never one to like surprises and he knew that if he went, his mother would have a fit because he wouldn't be home to spend Christmas with her, including her tofurkey, bean sprout and yam casserole that wasn't fit to feed to a dead dog.

Today was yet another day that Freddie had been dreading. Marissa insisted that she and Freddie attend a mother-son gift wrapping class together down at the community center and he knew that he would be the oldest son there for sure, probably by at least ten or twelve years. Despite him being in college, Marissa still thought of him as nine years old. Sure he loved his mom, but she could be kind of hard on the nerves without even trying.

Melanie Puckett was valedictorian of her class at the boarding school she attended on the east coast. She, too, was in her sophomore year of college. She had been to visit her sister in L.A. twice, but hadn't been back to Seattle for several years. It's not like she was close with her mother anyway. Melanie was always Daddy's girl, which is why he used his political connections to get her into the boarding school. She wanted to spend Christmas break with her dad in Virginia like she usually did, but his new wife has made it clear that they were spending the week with _her_ family in Florida, without Melanie.

Not wanting to spend another holiday in the dorms alone like she did over Thanksgiving while her dad was on his honeymoon, Melanie decided to make a trip to Seattle. She had taken a part time job at the student book store on campus and had enough money saved to pay for her ticket and even buy her mother a nice Christmas present. Hopefully, Pam would be sober enough to realize she was even there.

Melanie's flight arrived in Seattle and, despite calling Pam two days earlier and telling her exactly when she was due to arrive, she ended up sitting in the airport waiting for a ride. After three hours, she decided to give up on her mother. Not knowing who else to turn to, she called Spencer Shay's apartment.

"Yellow." The artist answered the phone, cheery as ever.

"Hi is this Spencer?" Melanie asked in her signature polite and chipper tone.

"Yep."

"This is Melanie. Melanie Puckett, Sam's sister."

"Oh, hey Melanie. Gosh, I haven't seen you in, what, three or four years? How's it going, kiddo?"

"Good. Well, not at the moment. Listen, I hate to be a pest, but I didn't know who else to call and anyway, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

"Sure, Melanie. What do you need?"

"Well, I could use a ride. I just got into Sea-Tac and I told my mom when I was getting in, but I guess she forgot about me. I've been sitting here for three hours and every time I call her, the phone goes right to voice mail, like she has it turned off or the battery's dead or something."

"No problemo, Melanie. I can be there in about 20 minutes."

"I'm sitting outside American Air baggage claim."

"OK, sit tight, I'll see you in a few."

After picking Melanie up, Spencer drove her to Pam Puckett's house to find no one home. The door was locked and all the window blinds were pulled tight. Melanie, lacking Sam's lock-picking expertise, couldn't get in. She returned to Spencer's car, not to get her suitcase, but to regret even buying the ticket to Seattle in the first place.

"I'm sorry Spencer. I don't know what to do. I don't have money for a hotel room and she's clearly not home, even her crappy old Honda is gone."

"Don't sweat it, Mel. You can crash at my place if you want, I have plenty of space. You can stay in Carly's old room if you want."

"Thanks, Spencer. Sam always said you were like a big brother to her. I guess I owe you one."

Spencer and Melanie made their way through the lobby at Bushwell to Lewbert's complaints of them messing up his floor. When he raised his head from the book he was reading and got a good look at Melanie, he returned to his office and cowered like he was in fear for his life. Mel shrugged it off and continued toward the elevator. In the Shay apartment, Melanie took her bag upstairs while Spencer headed into the kitchen in an attempt to find something for his guest to eat for dinner.

Freddie, who had just returned from his mother-son bonding time, decided to pay Spencer a visit while Marissa was on the phone with his aunt telling her what a great time she felt they had together. Freddie rang the bell and waited patiently.

"C'mon in Freddo." Spencer greeted when he opened the door.

"Thanks, Spence. Man, I'm glad that's over." Freddie sighed, plopping down on the couch and turning on the TV.

"So how was the class?"

Freddie simply sent the older man a look that said 'drop it'. "So what are you up to?" He asked.

"Trying to find something for dinner. I have company." Spencer said as he headed back to the kitchen.

"Oh, uh, sorry dude. I didn't realize you had a date." Freddie got up and turned toward the door. "I'll head out and let you . . ."

"No. You don't have to go. I mean, it's not a girl. Well, it's a girl, but she's not a date."

Freddie stood to walk toward the kitchen for further explanation, clearly confused at Spencer's statement. He got even more confused when he glanced toward the stairs and saw a familiar figure coming down the steps.

"Sam! Oh my gosh, what are you doing here." Freddie exclaimed, running over to the blonde beauty.

"Hey, Freddie!" Melanie said when she reached the bottom of the steps, offering him a hug.

"That's not Sam. That's Melanie." Spencer explained, grabbing a handful of take out menus from a drawer under his island. "You guys up for a pizza or would you rather have Chinese? Sorry, but I don't have much in the house."

"Again!" Freddie said with disgust in his voice and pushed the girl back from him. "First off, Sam you already admitted you made up your twin sister years ago. We haven't seen each other in forever and you're pulling this chiz. And I can't believe you, Spence. I thought we were buds, now you're helping her try to make a fool out of me. Again."

"Freddie, I'm real." Melanie said taking his hands in hers. "Don't you remember our dance and our kiss at the club?"

Poor Freddie, he didn't know what to do. On one hand he was mad at Sam for trying to pull this chiz on him when he hadn't seen her in so long and yet he had missed her so much he sort of didn't care. 'Maybe the poor girl's bi-polar or something, she's acting really odd, too' he thought to himself. He glared into her eyes and something was different alright, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Why don't you just show him your i.d.?" Spencer asked from the kitchen, with uncharacteristic wisdom.

Melanie, who was still carrying her purse, reached into it and took out her student i.d. "Here Freddie, see it says 'Melanie Ann Puckett'."

"Sam, I know you well enough to know that you could get a fake i.d. with one phone call. Heck, I've seen you do it."

Tired of arguing, Mel came up with an idea of her own. "Tell you what, Freddie. Take out your phone and call Sam, right now. Talk to her and prove to yourself that I'm not her."

Freddie pulled his pear phone out of his pocker and unlocked it. He scrolled down to Sam's number, which was contact number 2, his mom was number 1. He hit dial and waited. After several rings, Sam's phone went to voice mail. "Well, I guess that doesn't prove much." He scoffed and started back toward the sofa.

"I'm calling the pizza place, you guys good with a meat lover's pizza?"

"Um, could we skip the sausage, please?" Melanie asked.

Freddie definitely knew something was wrong with this picture. First off, Sam doesn't make a habit out of saying 'please' and she'd sooner eat cardboard than have pizza without sausage. "What did you say?" He inquired with a the raise of an eyebrow, looking at the girl like she had just sprouted another arm from her forehead.

"I mean, it's OK if you guys want it, but I'd rather skip the sausage because of the fat. I guess it doesn't matter, I can just pick it off my slice."

"Your slice?" Freddie asked. "As in, just one? You always put away a whole pizza by yourself. And then steal everyone else's breadsticks."

"Well, Maybe Sam can eat like a lumberjack, but I can't. That's the biggest difference in us, she has the metabolism of a racehorse. I gain a pound if I even look at a tiny little cupcake."

Freddie was about to open his mouth when his phone rang, Sam's name and number appeared on the screen. "Now how did you manage that?" He asked, glancing up at Melanie. "Hello?"

**So it looks like Freddie is about to have the revelation of his life. See what happens next time when he makes a new friend.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the feedback from Chapter 1. I'm glad to hear everyone liked it. BY the way, updates will be on Fridays, maybe late Thursdays for this one.**

Last chapter:

Freddie was about to open his mouth when his phone rang, Sam's name and number appeared on the screen. "Now how did you manage that?" He asked, glancing up at Melanie. "Hello?"

Chapter 2

"Hey, Nubblestiltskin, whattup?" Sam greeted from the other end.

"Uh, Sam is that you?"

"Well, who the heck else would call you Nubblestiltskin?"

"And you're calling me form L.A.?"

"No, I'm on the moon! Of course I'm in L.A., Dingus. Now what did you want, I saw I missed a call form you. Sorry, I would have answered it, but Cat had my phone, she was 'punishing' me for letting the refrigerator door open while I ate some cold pizza." Freddie couldn't see the dirty look she was giving her little, red headed roommate, who sat on the couch, innocently filing away at her finger nails.

"What was on the pizza?" Freddie asked.

"Um, pepperoni, sausage, like two or three kinds of cheese, hot peppers, ham, onions, bacon, mushrooms, oh and some yummy buffalo chicken, why?" Sam was getting confused at his line of questioning.

"You said sausage?" Freddie asked. "Let me ask you something, would you eat pizza without sausage?"

"No! I'd rather eat a hobo's shoes. Why would you ask that? We haven't talked in over a month and you're grilling me about what I like on my pizza?"

"Well, it's just that . . ."

From over his shoulder, Melanie suddenly shouted, "Hi, Sam!"

"Oh my gosh, is that Melanie?" Sam asked. "You're hanging out with my sister?"

"Yeah, we're here at Spencer's place." He answered sheepishly.

"Let me guess, you still thought she was me but Mel said she wanted pizza without sausage and you felt like your head was going to explode."

"Um yeah, something like that." Freddie handed the phone to Melanie so she could talk to Sam. He didn't know what to do or say, but one thing was clear - he had acted like a horse's hind quarters toward Melanie. As he watched her actions he felt himself becoming strangely attracted to her. It was as though learning the truth about her existence had opened his eyes to the possibility that another girl could actually be attracted to him. But wait, was she still attracted to him, it had been years since their date and the kiss she planted on him at the under 21 club.

After putting the phone on speaker, Melanie told Sam about their mother's absence.

"I could have told you, Mel. Mom went to Portland for Christmas. Some guy she met last weekend at the bingo hall invited her to go with him and she dropped everything and left, she barely had time to call me from the airport."

"But I was by the house and her car is gone, too."

"You mean 'ol' lemon'." Sam said, referring to the faded yellow Honda with the bungee cords holding the trunk lid shut and a green plastic garbage bag taped over the one back door's window which was permanently stuck in the down position.

"She sold it to some high school kid a couple of months ago for like, six hundred bucks or something. Poor kid, must have been high or brain dead to pay six bills for that heap."

The sisters talked for a while, Freddie saying a few words here and there until the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of their pizza.

"I wish I could be there with you guys for Christmas." Sam said. "I just can't leave Cat here alone. She'd probably burn the apartment building to the ground or get lost on the way to the store or something. But I'll miss you."

"We'll miss you too, Sam." Melanie said.

"Uh, yeah. I-um, we'll miss you, Sam." Freddie added, nervously, his heart still on his sleeve for her.

"How about we video chat Christmas eve?" Sam proposed.

"Cool." Freddie said.

"OK, talk to you then." Melanie hung up and handed the phone back to Freddie.

"C'mon, guys. Pizza's here." Spencer shouted, closing the front door, having just paid the delivery guy.

As they sat around the table and ate, Freddie was completely speechless. Sam said she'd miss him, does that mean she still has feelings for him? Is there still hope for them? As he was mulling over all these thoughts in his mind, Spencer and Melanie were chatting about random things like the weather, Christmas decorations and Carly's newest boyfriend, whom Spencer didn't like because the guy is almost five years older than her. It was killing Freddie not to know where he stood with Sam but he was doing his best to hide it.

"How about it, Freddie, sound like fun?" Melanie asked, interrupting his train of thought.

"Uh, sorry, Mel. What was that?"

"I asked if you wanted to go for a walk around the plaza, you know see the Christmas lights, maybe stop for hot chocolate, enjoy the fresh air and the new snow."

Freddie's eyes quickly went to Spencer who was giving him the 'if you don't say yes, you're a complete idiot' look.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sounds cool, Mel. Tell you what, let me go grab a hat and my jacket and we can head out before it gets too late."

Freddie went across the hall and told his mother he was going out for a walk. He returned to Spencer's to find Melanie just coming down the steps wearing a cute, pink sweater and a pair of new, fur trimmed suede boots. "Aren't you going, Spence?" He asked the artist who was now sitting on the couch wearing a t shirt and sweat pants, eyes trained on the TV screen.

"You kids go ahead." He waved his hand in the air toward the door, not taking his eyes off the TV. "I don't want to miss the season finale of celebrities underwater." Freddie suspected that this was Spencer's attempt to set him up because he could DVR the show and watch it any time. He didn't have time to think too much about what his friend was trying to do for him because of how cute Melanie looked. One thing was certain, he couldn't help feeling all but giddy with excitement at their impromptu date. The poor boy hadn't been out with a girl since the middle of summer and this was a nice change of pace.

Melanie and Freddie left the apartment and went for their winter stroll around the plaza. After a few blocks, their hands found each other's and for the first time since he had been to L.A. to visit Sam, Freddie began to feel comfortable with a girl. There was something so familiar about her, but yet so different. He could see himself kissing Mel or at least asking her out again. Still there was a subject that needed addressed and now was as good a time as any.

"I owe you an apology, Melanie." He began. "I acted like a real jerk with you when we went out the other year and you didn't deserve it. I was so certain that Sam was just pulling a prank on me and now that I know the truth, I feel like such a, such a big . . . "

Mel cut him off. "It's OK, Freddie. I know Sam can be a handful. I saw some of the stuff she pulled with you and Gibby on iCarly over the years. I thought you'd realize I wasn't Sam when I kissed you because Sam wouldn't do something like that. Then when you said you had kissed her before, I sort of freaked out, too. I was afraid maybe you two secretly had something going on and I was messing it up. See here's the thing, I uh, I have something to confess." The girl now hesitated and looked down at the sidewalk before glancing up at him.

"What's that?" Freddie asked, looking into her eyes, now noticing they were just a slightly different shade of blue than her sister's, but so sincere and honest.

"I liked you then, Freddie and I-uh, I still sort of like you. I'm sorry, I know it's wrong. I know you and my sister have history and I don't want to do anything to come between you two."

The two had now come to the coffee shop and Freddie opened the door for her. They stepped inside out of the chilly Seattle air and ordered their hot drinks. As they found their way to an open table, the silence between them became deafening. Poor Melanie was afraid she was making Freddie very uncomfortable but she _did _like him and she could sense that he liked her.

Once they sat down Freddie blurted out of the blue. "You know, I like you, too, Mel. You're really cool and I, well, that is, uh, how about we go out again, you know, so I can make up for the last time when I acted like such a dipwad."

Melanie giggled at his assessment of himself. "I'd like that, Freddie, but what about Sam? Aren't you two, like together?"

"No, Sam and I aren't together, Mel. We're friends, better friends than we ever were, but nothing more, at least I don't think we are. She hasn't said anything different to you has she?" Melanie simply shook her head and sipped at her cup. Sam was never one to open up to her sister, but she did talk a lot about his visit to L.A.

They finished their drinks and made their way back to Bushwell. In the hallway, the two said their goodbyes for the evening. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Mel asked.

"I'll stop over around lunchtime, Mom wants me to help her bake Christmas cookies in the morning." Freddie replied. "So, I'm guessing you'll be staying with Spencer since your mom's out of town."

"Yeah, seems like I'll be your neighbor for a little while." Melanie replied. With that, she kissed Freddie's cheek "I had a really good time with you, Freddie."

"Me too, Mel. See you tomorrow."

Freddie and Melanie went through their respective doors. Fortunately for the young man, Marissa had left for night shift at work so he didn't have to explain to her where he had been for so long. Freddie headed into his bedroom and changed into his pajamas. Not that he'd be doing too much sleeping, he had a lot on his mind.

On one hand, there was the girl he'd been in love with since tenth grade. His first kiss, his first real girlfriend, his first and only true love. On the other was her twin sister, just as beautiful on the outside, but more 'normal' on the inside and certainly not afraid to admit her feelings. Sort of like a Carly wrapped in Sam packaging. Ironically, the thing that attracted him to Sam more than Carly in more recent times was her abnormality. This whole thing was making his head hurt.

He needed to talk to someone, but who? Gibby's like talking to a brick about this kind of thing. Spencer, well he's Spencer, and he's a little too close to the core of the situation to be objective. Maybe his old friend, Brad. No, Brad got married last year. He has a baby daughter and a family of his own, Freddie couldn't bother him with this trivial nonsense and it was getting late anyway.

It would be just late afternoon in Italy, maybe Carly would be up for a phone call. After all, who better to ask for advice about girls than another girl, his best friend since forever, his unrelated 'sister'. Freddie had come to realize that he and Carly weren't meant to be anything more than friends and quit pining away for her after she moved away and their friendship had never been stronger, despite her living halfway around the world.

He sat down at his computer to check email before lying down to call Carly. As he opened his pear pad, the desktop background nearly jumped off the screen at him. It was a picture of him and Sam that Cat had taken on his last day in L.A., arms around each other on the pier. They had just been to an amusement park and Sam's hair was messy from multiple rides on the roller coaster, but in his eyes she was never more beautiful. He quickly closed the cover, not wanting the self administered guilt trip.

He pulled out his phone and looked at the picture he had taken of Melanie not a half hour earlier in front of the huge Christmas tree by the entrance to Bushwell. A stunning beauty, perfect hair, charming personality, good grades, this girl had it all. It's just amazing how two girls can look so alike and be so different, he thought. How can twins be so polar opposite of each other?

If only Sam would just come out and tell him what she's feeling or thinking. If only he had the backbone to tell her how he felt, but that could end in physical pain or at the very least, ruin their friendship if she didn't feel the same way.

He scrolled through his contacts to find Carly's name. He pushed dial and waited to talk to his friend. After the single longest phone call he shared with Carly since she left Seattle, Freddie was no closer to being able to sleep than he was when he first put his night clothes on. As he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, one thing Carly said kept running through his mind. "Just let your heart guide you, Freddie. Do what feels right."

That's the trouble, he couldn't figure out if it felt right or not. It was wonderful to spend time with Melanie, and he was definitely attracted to her physically. Why wouldn't he be, she's a carbon copy of Sam and he could hardly keep his hands off her when they were together the last time. But it felt wrong, too; almost like he was 'cheating' on Sam.

"Stop it, dorkwad. Sam and I aren't a couple." He finally said aloud to himself. But what if this thing with Melanie got serious? Would Sam be wazzed off at him? Not for seeing another girl, but because he's seeing her sister. The only thing worse than not being with Sam would be to totally ruin their friendship. Even worse, would it ruin Sam and Melanie's relationship? The headache only continued to get worse and he grew even more restless. Time for a sci-fi movie marathon.

**Seems like Freddie has some serious decisions to make. At least he knows there are two Puckett sisters now, even if it makes things a lot more complicated in his own mind. Another chapter coming next week.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I appreciate the positive vibes. Hope everyone enjoys the update.**

Chapter 3

Freddie finally fell asleep watching sci-fi movie reruns after five in the morning. Unfortunately, Marissa was up and ready to go for an early start with the cookie baking and barged into his room at half past seven.

"Are you going to sleep all day? We have things to do, there's only two days until Christmas!" She announced before turning on the lights to 'help' him wake up.

He couldn't tell her he was running on little more than two hours sleep for fear of a lecture about getting proper rest. He rolled out of bed, trudged into his bathroom and got a quick shower to help him feel more human. He wanted to be clean and smell nice when he saw Melanie at noon time. Definitely couldn't tell his mother about that part, not just yet anyway.

After several hours of helping his mom bake gluten free, low calorie, sugarless sugar cookies, it was time for her to go meet a friend from work for lunch. Freddie wasted no time in changing into some nice clothes, splashing on some cologne and, after leaving his mother a note that he would be over at Spencer's, he dashed across the hall.

Spencer called for him to come in from a ladder, he was working on some kind of device that he had rigged to the ceiling to make it snow on the Christmas tree. "Need a hand, Spence?" Freddie asked, instinctively walking toward the fire extinguisher.

"Nah, I'm almost done, I just have to test this thing and if it . . . " The artist was cut off by a loud pop followed by flames shooting out the bottom of the snow maker.

Freddie handed him the fire extinguisher so calmly, almost like he was expecting it to happen.

"Now how the heck did that happen?" Spencer shouted as he stepped off the ladder, spraying foam at the machine.

Freddie shrugged his shoulders and took a seat on the couch. "The tree looks good with the fire powder on it, though."

"Yeah, kind of like snow. I like it! Melanie should be down any minute, she said she's expecting you." Spencer said, giving him a wink. "Hey, you remember how I told you I was going to Yakima for the holiday to visit my grandpa? I was just wondering if maybe you'd be able to invite Melanie to your place for Christmas, you know since I'm going to be away. I feel bad for leaving her alone but I don't want to miss visiting Grandpa. He's been sick a lot lately and I sure would hate to miss spending the holiday with him if something were to happen, you know what I mean."

"I can do that, Spence. Don't worry about it. She may not be too happy with my mom's cooking, but we can always slip out for Chinese or something later in the day. I usually do." Freddie shivered at the thoughts of his mother's holiday food.

"So how did it go last evening? You guys must have had a long walk judging by the time Melanie came in."

"We had a good time, we did a lot of talking, you know sort of got to know each other. I'm actually taking her out today to make up for what a stubrag I was last time she was here. I thought maybe we'd see a movie or something."

"I thought you were kinda waiting for Sam." Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"So did I, Spencer, but Melanie's here now and we're just going to hang out and have some fun. Besides, she'll be going back east in a week or so. It's just nice to hang out with someone like her."

"Just don't do anything you'll regret, Freddo." Spencer replied quietly just as Melanie came down the stairs.

"Hi, Freddie", she walked up to the brown eyed young man and hugged him.

Spencer just looked at Freddie and raised an eyebrow as the two shared their quick hug and Freddie helped Melanie with her coat. He was one of the few people who realized how Freddie and Sam really felt about one another and he hated to see anything come between them, but then again, it's not like they had committed anything to one another.

* * *

Melanie and Freddie left Bushwell and found a movie they wanted to see. It wasn't some slasher horror film like Sam always wanted but yet it wasn't some touchy feely chick flick like Carly liked either, it was almost like the perfect film for both of them. Freddie bought their tickets and Melanie insisted on buying their drinks and snacks. It sure was unusual to actually share a tub of popcorn with a girl. He and Carly had only ever been to the movies a few times together and she always got a small popcorn with no butter. And every time he and Sam went, she always had to have her own mega tub with enough butter to drown a horse and then coerced him into going to get her a refill so she wouldn't miss any of the movie.

After the movie, the two walked around through the mall and Mel decided she just _had_ to make a stop at Glitter Gloss for some new hair ties, a stop which took the best part of two hours. Freddie just rolled his eyes. 'Well, nice to know she isn't completely perfect.' He thought to himself. Standing around while girls ooh'd and aww'd over every different shade of nail polish and lip gloss was definitely not his idea of a good time.

He never had to do that with Sam, she hated that kind of chiz as much as he did. Fortunately, the mall was getting ready to close before they got too close to Build a Bra, one of Carly's personal favorites, and he assumed Melanie could spend the whole day in there as well if she were given half an opportunity.

* * *

Their evening ended in the hallway with the promise of getting together for brunch the next day and with another kiss to the cheek for Freddie. He walked into his apartment smiling from ear to ear only to greet his mother who instantly noticed the lipstick on his cheek and moved in for a closer inspection like a mother hen.

He decided to bring her up to speed on the whole situation. After all, he intended to invite Melanie for Christmas dinner and he knew his mother would need time to process the thoughts of him inviting a girl for their holiday meal. Especially one who looked identical to a young lady Marissa was not exactly fond of.

"Fredward, what is that on your cheek?" In a way, she was happy, her son had obviously been on a date, which meant he was possibly ready to stop waiting for the 'blonde headed demon'. She was certainly relieved that the offending substance was not on his lips or neck.

He quickly looked in the mirror hanging beside their front door. "Oh, um, Melanie kissed me in the hall." He said, wiping at his cheek with a tissue from his pocket.

"And just why haven't I met this Melanie person, you should have invited her in."

"About that, Mom, I was actually thinking of inviting her for Christmas dinner. You see, her mom's out of town and she'll be all alone."

"Oh, that would be nice, dear. You're such a gentleman, always thinking of those less fortunate. But still, I would have liked to have met her."

'Might as well get this over with.' He thought to himself. "I have a picture of her right here." He pulled out his phone, scrolled to the picture of Mel from the previous evening and handed it to his mother.

"Fredward Benson! What is the meaning of this?" Marissa went off the rails at the sight of Sam's twin and shoved the phone back into is hands. "Do you think you're fooling anyone? This-this is that horrible Puckett girl you were friends with in high school! Do you even remember what happened to you the last time you were with her? She nearly got you killed!"

"Mom, this isn't Sam, it's her twin sister, Melanie."

"Oh, please! If you're going to ruin your life by seeing that-that delinquent girl, at least have the decency to be honest with your mother and admit it."

"Mom, I swear, this is NOT Sam. I know, I didn't believe there were two of them until just the other day either, but they are as different as night and day. You'll see."

"Oh, no!" Marissa gasped. "You are not inviting someone like that into our home for Christmas."

"Mom! A few minutes ago, it was chivalrous of me to invite her because she has no one else to spend the day with. Now all of a sudden it's a crime to do so."

Marissa began to see the flaw in her logic. "All right, Fredward, but I'm warning you, if that girl hasn't learned to keep her smart mouth in check, she'll be asked to leave."

"Don't worry about a thing, Mom. I think you're really going to like Melanie."

"Hmmph" Marissa plopped down on her plastic covered, hypoallergenic sofa and crossed her legs.

Freddie retired to his bedroom to chuckle to himself. He always got a secret thrill out of seeing his mother's less than positive reaction to Sam when they dated and this was almost as good, at least until she met Melanie and decided the girl wasn't a thing like her sister and liked her.

He heard a ping from his phone and pulled it out to see a text from none other than Sam. This wasn't unsusual, they usuall would text or email several times a week, but hardly ever talked on the phone any more.

From-Princess Puckett: Hope Mel's not driving you too crazy, I should have warned you she's kind of needy.

From-Frednub: No, she's cool.

From-Princess Puckett: Don't forget we're chatting tomorrow for Christmas eve. Be online at 6:00

From-Frednub: Will do. BTW, does Melanie have a boyfriend?

From-Princess Puckett: Not that I know of, Y?

From-Frednub: No reason, just curious.

With that, the texts stopped. Freddie got changed and settled into his bed and turned on the TV, satisfied with the way his day went and, for some reason, much more at ease with the whole Melanie situation than he was the day before.

* * *

Meanwhile, in L.A.:

'Why does he care if Mel has a boyfriend?' Sam thought to herself after the last text from Freddie. 'Unless, unless, he's- NO, it's not even possible.'

"Sam, Sam, Sam, look at what Robbie gave me for an early Christmas gift." Cat ran into the apartment, breaking Sam's train of thought, showing off a three foot high pink giraffe wearing a red and green scarf and a Santa hat. "Isn't she cute?"

"Yeah that's nice, kid." Sam said and drug herself to her bed. Cat wondered what was wrong with her friend, she seemed a bit down all of a sudden. The red haired girl just figured Sam was probably crashing from the sugar high she had been on a while ago after eating that whole tub of peanut butter fudge by herself.

For two full hours, Sam lay on her bed debating why Freddie cared if her sister had a boyfriend. She hoped and prayed it wasn't because he was falling for her. It was easy to see why he would. After all, Melanie was just a Carly wrapped in Sam packaging. 'Oh man, I'll bet they're hanging out together all the time, Mel's even clingier than Carly and she wouldn't be shy about flirting with him, either. Melanie doesn't have trouble with her feelings like I do.' Sam thought.

Melanie always did say she thought he was cute, she even confessed to kissing him when she found out Sam and him were dating and then apologized repeatedly to her sister for the kiss, even though it happened before Sam and Freddie were together.

The thoughts of the only boy she ever loved and her twin sister spending so much time together made her head spin. If she had been more open with her feelings then maybe, just maybe Freddie wouldn't be possibly falling for Melanie. 'Oh, God. He can't fall in love with her, he just can't, he's my guy. He's the only guy I've ever loved.' She told herself. 'Man, why can't I just be honest with him and tell him how I feel.'

After all, Melanie wouldn't be afraid to tell him how she felt. Maybe she _should_ have went back to Seattle for Christmas after all. 'If he weren't such a dang nub, he'd have figured it out already.' She tried to tell herself. Why worry about this now. After all, Freddie's not the long-distance relationship type or he'd have made his move on her a long time ago. Sam kept reassuring herself with, 'Besides, in two weeks, Melanie will be going back east to her college and her own friends and Freddie will go back to being Freddie. Good old hapless, lonely, dorky Freddie.'

* * *

Sam tossed and turned to get to sleep and when sleep finally overtook her, she dreamed of normal Sam things for a while. Dreams of an all you can eat ham and bacon buffet, polishing her motorcycle, zombie film marathons, fried chicken legs by the truckload and tacos the size of a small car all filled her head. Forget the visions of sugarplums, these were Sam Puckett's Christmas dreams. Then things took a strange turn. She started dreaming of a wedding in a plain, country chapel. There was a large, gray haired man wearing a robe in the front of the church and a dainty, sweet looking lady, who looked to be at least 85 playing an antique organ.

Carly was there, so was Gibby, figures, he'd be Freddie's best man. Then there was Freddie standing between the two, obviously the groom. He's wearing a very handsome black and gray tuxedo and he looks good in that tux. A blue-eyed blonde was approaching him wearing a simple white gown. Her twin stood beside Carly, wearing the same dress, they were co-maids of honor. This wasn't the first time she had dreamed about marrying Freddie. It had actually been a recurring dream every few weeks since he came to L.A. and got involved with that tuna fish fiasco well over a year ago. It seemed like that was the turning point that proved to Sam how much she really loved him.

As the congregation sat down, she could see familiar faces in the crowd. Spencer, T-Bo, Tasha, Valerie, Brad and Wendy were all there, along with other faces from their school days. So was Gibby's little brother, he was holding the rings on a pillow, how cute. For some strange reason, none of Sam's L.A. friends were there this time, but Lewbert was, why the heck would she invite him to her wedding of all people? She noticed her own mother sitting off to one side by herself and in the row in front of her was Mrs. Benson, who was perpetually wiping at her eyes yet looking uncharacteristically happy for some reason, much happier than she usually does in the 'wedding dream'.

The minister began to speak. "Dearly beloved, we are here today to witness the joining of these two young people in the bonds of holy matrimony. Does anyone have any reason why Fredward Karl Benson and Melanie Ann Puckett should not be united in marriage. If so, let them speak now or forever hold your peace."

Aww, it's almost perf . . . Wait, WHAT?! Freddie and Melanie? GETTING MARRIED?! What the chiz? I object!, I object!, for the love of ham, I OBJECT! And with that Sam awoke in her bed, in L.A., in a cold sweat, Cat standing over her, holding her giraffe under her arm, looking scared to death.

"Oh my gosh, Sam, what's wrong?" The redheaded girl squeaked, turning on a light. "You were tossing and turning and then you started screaming. Something about chiz and ham and object."

"What, where am- CAT! Oh my God, I'm so happy to see you." Sam jumped off the bed and grabbed the young girl into a bear hug, surprising Cat because Sam has always made it clear she is not a hugger.

"What happened? Did you have a bad dream?" Cat asked when Sam finally left go of her, concerned for her friend's mental well-being, maybe all those slasher films were starting to catch up with her.

"Um, yeah, you could say that. Must have been all that fudge." Sam looked at the clock; it was 6:22 in the morning, Christmas eve.

"Cat, I need to ask you to do me a favor."

**Sorry this chapter got so long, I hope it was worth it. What do you think Sam is going to ask Cat to do for her? Find out next time. **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Freddie awoke Christmas eve morning and trudged out to the kitchen. He was getting way too accustomed to the late nights of watching TV and playing video games online and the lack of sleep was catching up with him. The apartment was empty and silent, to his surprise. He looked to the cork board on the wall by the refrigerator to see a note from his mother.

_Freddiekins,_

_I got called into work early. I'll call you on my break to let you know when I'll be getting home. I need you to go to the natural food store and pick up some things for our Christmas dinner. There's a list on the table of what I need along with my credit card. _

_I also need you to get something for your friend for Christmas from me. I was planning on shopping for her myself this morning on the way to work but I'll be stuck at the hospital all day._

_Love, Mom_

Freddie left out a sigh. It was bad enough that his mother made such horrible, tasteless holiday food, but asking him to go to the store and pick it all up was like making a kid pick the switch he was to get beaten with.

Maybe this was something Mel could help him with. After all, everything he's done with her so far had been fun, she could at least make this experience bearable. But first, he needed to go pick up something for his mother to give Melanie and he needed to get her something, too. Freddie thought he had finished his Christmas shopping in October, but Mel being in town threw him for a loop, in more ways than one.

He knew last minute Christmas shopping wouldn't be fun, but he went to the mall anyway. It didn't take him long to find a nice sweater for his mom to give to Melanie, but it was a little harder trying to find something from him. It couldn't be anything too big, she'd have to take it on the plane with her when she went back to her college. A gift card would be too impersonal. He noticed a sale at Jay's Jewelers and he looked over the display cases. In the third case, he saw the perfect necklace. A simple, silver herringbone chain, with an engraving that says 'Princess'. This would be perfect, no doubt Sam will love it. But wait, this isn't for Sam, it's for Melanie and jewelry would be too presumptuous, after all they aren't dating or anything. Still, he bought it anyway, but he didn't quite know why, it was just like something was telling him to. Besides, it was on sale, an excuse that always sounds waaay better when girls say it.

He was about to leave the mall when he walked by the window of P.B. Nickels department store. He remembered Melanie looking at the wool knit scarf and hat set on the teal colored mannequin and liking it when they walked around the mall yesterday. It fits the bill, small enough to carry in her luggage, personal enough to have a special meaning to her and it would look really good on her.

Thirty minutes later, Freddie returned to Bushwell, stashed the gift-wrapped packages in his apartment, picked up his mother's 'special' grocery list and went across the hall to pick up Melanie for brunch. Though it was going on noon, Melanie didn't seem to mind his tardiness. After all, he had been gentleman enough to text her and tell her he was running late.

After choosing a restaurant, they ordered their food and had a nice time talking about their respective family's holiday traditions. Freddie broke the news to Melanie that he needed to stop at the natural foods store and fulfill his mother's list but she was only too happy to help. 'Man, this girl _is _amazing.' He thought to himself.

"So did you want to come over to my place for Christmas?" He asked. "I know Spencer was leaving for Yakima early this morning and I hate to see you all alone."

"No. I don't want to intrude on you and your mom's holiday. I'll be fine."

"No intrusion, Mels. The truth is my mom's actually anxious to meet you."

"Really, but I don't have anything for her. I couldn't just come empty handed, that would be rude."

"It's no big deal, really. Just having you there with us is enough. Tell you what, maybe you could whip up some kind of dessert if you really want to bring something. By the looks of Mom's list, she isn't planning on anything like that."

"I guess I could do that, I suppose I could give her my own mom's gift since she skipped town on me."

They had to park almost two blocks away from the natural foods store, but chatted as they walked up the sidewalk, holding hands, which had become natural for them. "I'm still sorry about having to drag you into this place, Mel. My mom used to visit this store at least once a week and I always hated going in with her."

"Aw, it's not that bad, Freddie. I've been in this kind of store and they're all the same."

"Yeah, but it smells funny in this place, kind of musty. I can't believe my mom even goes in the door with what it smells like, she's usually afraid of picking up spores and stuff."

"I'm sure we'll live. You know, I tried the vegan thing in high school." Mel informed him. "I gave up on it my senior year, though."

"Wow, a Puckett not eating meat, um, just wow." Freddie shook his head.

"Truth is, I was doing it to impress a guy, but I didn't really enjoy it. The whole thing just doesn't appeal to me, but I do try to eat healthy. I don't see any reason to be all obsessive over it, though. Some people just carry it to extremes."

"Right, I've gotta admit meat is pretty tasty." Freddie laughed as they entered the store, Freddie held the door open and Mel again kissed his cheek.

"You're so funny." She commented with a giggle, now turning up the flirting a notch, she hadn't been this close to a guy in a long time and she was starting to think this thing with Freddie could go somewhere. Unfortunately, it was starting to appear that he was afraid to make the first move.

After getting a full load of healthy ingredients for Marissa's holiday dinner, the duo left the store and headed back to Freddie's car just as it was beginning to snow.

"I don't know about you, but I think I can still smell that place on my clothes." He said with a frown as they walked across the nearly empty parking lot toward his car.

"It _was_ pretty gross in there. Eww, my hair smells nasty now, too." Mel said as she took a whiff of her golden locks, which she had left down so she could wear a knit hat. "Here, see what I mean." She offered a small handful of hair toward Freddie.

He instinctively took a small whiff, left out a cough and tried to pass it off. "I don't notice anything, Mels."

"You know, with as much time as you've spent with my sister, I'd think you'd be a better liar." She said with a laugh and turned toward him.

Freddie was still very close to her and their faces were now positioned mere inches apart. Mel closed her eyes and Freddie was now feeling bold and started moving his lips ever so closer to hers. Suddenly a car horn blared at the two. They were standing right behind a silver Toyota and the lady behind the wheel was obviously in too much of a hurry to get home to wait for young romance to blossom.

The two jumped apart and Freddie placed the bags in his trunk as Mel politely smiled and waved to the woman in the Camry as she backed out of her parking space and sped off. Lord knows, Sam would have been just as likely to slash a couple of her tires for blowing the horn at her.

The two made their way back to Bushwell and up to the eighth floor. Melanie insisted that she needed to wash her hair and Freddie reminded her that they were to get together to video chat with Sam at 6:00. He suggested they do it from Spencer's since he wasn't sure if his mother would be home and it would be better if she not see Sam on the computer screen.

Like clockwork, Freddie ducked across the hall at 5:55 with his laptop to set up the video chat. Melanie answered the door, her hair still slightly damp because she didn't know where Spencer kept his hair dryer. "I've looked everywhere." She lamented, toweling her hair dry.

"Oh, uh, he's not allowed to have one." Freddie explained. "The fire chief actually confiscated his when we were in like, tenth grade."

"Right, that whole pyromaniac thing he has going on." She nodded.

"Mhmm." Freddie answered as he signed on to Skype and Mel took a seat beside him on the couch and began brushing at her hair.

Six o'clock came and went, then six-thirty and then seven, still Sam failed to log on. Mel was growing impatient and picked up her phone at nearly seven-thirty. She dialed Sam's number and the call went straight to voice mail.

"That's odd. She never turns her phone off." Melanie stated.

"Here let me try." Freddie pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Sam. "Straight to voice mail." He said with a frown. "You know Sam, she probably just forgot to charge her phone." Freddie laid his phone down on the coffee table.

"Well at least she should be online. It was her idea after all." Mel pouted. "I'll bet that little skunk got invited to a party and forgot all about us." With that, she turned off her phone and slid it into the pocket of her cashmere sweater.

That thought made Freddie very sad. Forgotten on Christmas eve by his true love. "Hey, I've got an idea, Mels. Why don't we go over to my place and you can met my mom. She's been recording every Christmas movie that's been on for weeks, we can make some popcorn and watch a couple of them. Come on, we can still have fun tonight." Freddie suggested, taking her hand, trying his best to cheer Melanie up and hoping to take his own mind off Sam.

Melanie nodded and smiled at him. He packed up his laptop and the two went over to Marissa's. Freddie opened the door to find his mom just getting home from work, hanging up her coat, still in her nurse's scrubs.

"Freddiebear. Where have you been?" Marissa asked, not taking notice to the girl behind him. "It's getting late."

"Uh, Mom, I'd like you to meet Melanie." He nervously said.

"Oh, nice to meet you, Melanie." Marissa was still a bit cold toward her. After all, this girl was the twin, or supposedly so, of a young lady she could not stand the sight of.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Benson." Melanie extended a hand to Marissa in greeting and smiled politely.

Marissa took her hand and she did notice an heir of politeness she never saw in Sam.

"If you kids will excuse me, I need to change out of these scrubs, it's been a long day." Marissa stated. "Freddiekins, why don't you offer Melanie something to drink. There's some organic grapefruit juice in the pantry."

* * *

At the same moment in L.A., Sam was prancing back and forth from one foot to another in a huge line at the airport ticket counter. She had scraped together every cent she could pawn, beg or borrow and was preparing for a trip to Seattle on the spur of the moment.

By the time her turn came to talk to the ticket agent, Sam was ready to scream. She told the lady where she wanted to go and after an eternity of watching the woman pound away furiously at her keyboard, she was informed that there were no available flights to Seattle any time soon.

"Oh, come on lady, there has to be one seat. I'm not even that big, maybe I could sit in one of those little jump seats or something."

"I'm sorry, Miss. The next guaranteed seat I can sell you is tomorrow morning at 5:35, arriving in Seattle at 3:30 pm. There's a bit of a layover in Denver. I'm very sorry, but it's the soonest I have."

"Uggh, you mean I'll have to sit around this stupid airport for almost nine hours until the flight leaves."

"I could sell you a standby on an earlier flight, but there's no guarantee you'll get to board. And if the 5:35 sells out in the meantime, you'll have to wait for an even later flight."

"How much is the stinkin' ticket?" Sam said through clenched teeth. She knew if she made a scene, she wouldn't be allowed to fly anywhere, so she tried to keep her cool.

"Nine hundred sixty-five." The lady said coldly.

"Dollars? It's normally less than three hundred to fly to Seattle! My boyfr- um my one friend flew down last summer and he said it was only 255."

"Well, Miss, this _is_ a holiday weekend and we don't have as many flights scheduled. If you would have booked your ticket online, before last weekend, you could have reserved an economy class seat. I'm sorry there's really nothing else I can do."

From behind her, Sam could hear the whines and grumbles of others who were waiting to get to the ticket desk. "Alright, here's your money." Sam counted out exactly 965 dollars for the woman, leaving her less than fifty bucks for cab fare from Sea-Tac to Bushwell and for snacks while waiting in the airport. She took her ticket and made her way to the security checkpoint, grumbling to herself, quietly calling the woman a range of various names from 'crook' to 'frigid old bitty'.

'Man, if I didn't love him, I'd never be doing this. What'll I do if I get there and I'm too late and he's already hooked up with Melanie? Maybe I should call him. Oh, chiz, we were supposed to video chat at 6:00, and it's almost 9:00.' She pulled out her phone and noticed the battery light flashing red, which meant it didn't even have enough power to ring, let alone place a call. She searched her bag, but soon discovered that in her hurry to pack, she grabbed everything _but_ her phone charger. She looked around the airport for people with similar phones, hoping to borrow a charger for just a little while, but she had just got a brand new phone, the latest model, and there was absolutely no one in the airport at this hour with one like it.

**So Sam's heading for Seattle. Will she make it before Freddie and Melanie get too cozy? Will she find a phone charger so she can even call him? I know, there is such a thing as a pay-phone but last time I was in an airport, they weren't too plentiful.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A lot of this chapter is going to focus on Sam's impromptu trip to Seattle. And Freddie and Melanie get a little cozier with each other. **

Chapter 5

Unable to contact any of her friends or find a phone charger she could borrow, Sam tried to get some rest by sprawling out across a bank of chairs in the airport. Every time she closed her eyes, images came to mind. Images of Freddie and Melanie kissing, images of the dream she had of their wedding, images of her always being the one who was cast aside for another and ending up living alone with a couple dozen cats. Perhaps a snack would clear her head and help her to rest. She walked around the airport, but the only concession open at this hour was a Skybanks coffee shop and the last thing she needed right now was caffeine.

She was walking away when a thought hit her. These coffee places all cater to the business traveler. Maybe some ad executive or traveling salesman would be in there with the same model of phone. She ordered a small latte and took a seat in the corner near the counter, so she could see the whole place. Unfortunately, the only two people who had their phones visible were an older, prissy looking lady and a heavy set middle aged man and neither had the same model.

Two cups of coffee and over an hour later, Sam was no closer to anything but wetting her pants. Luckily there was a ladies room in the back of the coffee shop which was calling to her. She was just about finished washing her hands when she hit pay dirt. A thirtysome, professionally dressed woman came in talking on her phone. She was talking fast, almost like she was hyper, ironic since she was in a coffee shop restroom.

"Alan. Alan! Listen to me. I'm in LAX and there are NO more flights to Phoenix until four am. Yes, I know it's Christmas eve, what does that have to do with anything, what do you want me to do, hitch a ride with Santa? I don't even want to hear that right now. What, oh of course this is all my fault isn't it? Hey, you know what, I'll call you when my plane lands. Yeah, I'm sorry too, but there's nothing I can do about it. I don't run the airlines."

The woman switched off her phone before stuffing it in her bag and mumbling something about being engaged to a jerk. She turned on the faucet and splashed some water on her face.

"Um, excuse me." Sam tried to quietly get her attention.

The woman pulled out a handful of paper towels to dry her face and paid no attention to Sam.

"I hate to bother you, but is that-"

"Are you talking to me?" The woman said, cutting her off, tossing her paper towels in the trash and turning toward the door.

"Yeah, I noticed I have the same phone you do and - " Sam said, following her out of the bathroom.

"Good for you, honey." The woman spat again cutting Sam off, clearly in a bad mood. "Guess that's two things we have in common. That and being stuck in this suckin' airport on Christmas eve."

"Yeah, blows doesn't it. So was your flight canceled or -"

"No, I got stuck in the security line and missed my flight. But I told my fiancee that it got cancelled because he's always busting my chops about being late for everything."

"Yeah, I get that a lot, too. I used to have this friend who said I'd be late for my own -"

"So what's your story? College student trying to get home. Or wait, let me guess, you're trying to spend Christmas with the guy you love." Again she cut Sam off by being snarky.

"Yeah, something like that. I'm headed to Seattle to stop the only guy I've ever loved from falling in love with my twin si -"

"Seattle, huh. Hey, now I know you. You were on that one web show, right? My little sister and I used to watch your show every week. She was so bummed when you guys quit making the show."

"Yeah, I've heard that a lot. You see, I need to call this guy because -"

"Say, what ever happened to that Freddie dude? Allie, that's my sister, she used to have such a huge crush on him. He was really cute, even though he's a little young for me." She said quickly.

"Well actually, he's the guy I'm trying to get back to. I'm trying to call him but my battery's dead, would you happen to have your -"

"Really, you guys wound up getting back together. Man, was Allie ever bummed when she found out you two were dating. She thought she was going to grow up and marry him some day, even though she was only like, eleven at the time. We're not really all that close in age, I was in high school when she was born." This woman needed some kind of tranquilizer or at least some decaf.

"Would you let me finish a sentence, for God's sake! I'm going back to Seattle to stop the only guy I've ever loved from falling for my twin sister who's a 'prefect' girl and he's been hanging out with all week. I was supposed to Skype with him earlier tonight and I totally forgot because I was standing in line at the stupid ticket desk. Now he's probably worried about me or worse, mad at me and doing who knows what with her. And my phone's completely dead, so I can't even call him. Do you have a charger for your phone I could borrow?" Sam panted, nearly in hysterics herself by this time.

"Why didn't you say so?" The woman said calmly and dug into her bag and pulled out her charger. "I'm Kelly, by the way." She extended a hand to Sam.

Sam shook her hand. "Sam. But, uh, I guess you already knew that."

Sam wasted no time in plugging in her phone and set about calling Freddie. His phone rang and rang before going to voice mail. 'That's odd, Freddie doesn't just let his phone lay around, and he always answers my calls.' She thought to herself. She tried calling Melanie, but her phone didn't ring and went straight to voice mail, obviously it was turned off.

Sam and her new friend sat in the airport coffee shop chatting about random things and the blonde only stopped trying to call Freddie repeatedly every ten minutes or so after 1:30 in the morning. Sure she could text him or leave a message but this was not something she could say in a voice mail or text. After all, how would a girl say. "Don't fall in love with my sister, I'm coming to Seattle to profess my undying love for you." and not look like a total jackhole.

* * *

Earlier in the evening, Marissa had returned from changing out of her work clothes to see Freddie and Melanie sitting together on the couch watching a black and white Christmas movie and sharing a bowl of popcorn. She smiled to herself, hoping that Freddie was finally ready to move on from Sam and went into the kitchen to unpack the groceries she had asked Freddie to pick up earlier in the day.

"Freddie, what is this?" She asked, marching into the living room and holding up a loaf of bread.

"You asked me to get bread." He replied, barely glancing at what his mother held, knowing full well she was about to go through the roof.

"You know very well this isn't the kind of bread I use. This is way too soft and fresh. I'll never be able to get my tofurkey casserole to stick together with this mess."

"Don't be mad at Freddie, Mrs. Benson." Melanie said shyly. "I was with him when he bought the bread. I actually suggested that brand. I know it's soft, but it has more fiber and it's gluten free, plus it's made in a factory that uses only green, renewable energy sources. I'm sure if you toast it, it'll be just as dry as the kind you usually use."

"Well, I suppose so. You know, it's unusual to see someone your age so aware of fiber and glutens." Marissa went back into the kitchen impressed at the young lady.

"Thanks" Freddie whispered in Mel's ear before getting up and going to the kitchen himself, Melanie following along.

"Would one of you like to explain this." Marissa now demanded, holding up a package of organic cranberries. "This wasn't even on my list and you forgot the cranberry sauce. How are we supposed to not have cranberry sauce?"

"Oh, that was my idea. We can combine those with some crushed pineapple and unflavored gelatin and make a really neat cranberry relish. Much better than that stuff that comes out of a can with all those preservatives and it's totally sugar free."

"I see. Well, that does sound pretty good. I wasn't even thinking about the preservatives." No doubt about it, this girl was growing on Marissa, despite her most direct relative and Marissa's feelings toward her. It was good to see Freddie with a girl who wasn't Sam Puckett and if he were to get serious about the sister, Sam would surely never be a factor in his life again. Melanie was, of course, playing to Marissa's weakness, healthy eating and living.

After unpacking her groceries, Marissa came into the living room, where the two college students had returned to their movie. "I'm going to go back to my room to call Aunt Irene and give you kids some privacy. Don't stay up too late, and remember, Santa's watching you." She winked at Freddie, who simply rolled his eyes as soon as her back was turned.

"Now, Melanie. I'm serving dinner promptly at one, so please don't be late. You're welcome to come by earlier if you wish."

"Thank you, Mrs. Benson." Melanie said, politely. "I'm looking forward to it. If there's anything I can do to help with your dinner, please let me know."

"Oh, there's no need to be so formal, just call me Marissa." Mrs. Benson smiled at her before going back the hall.

"Wow, that was weird." Freddie said quietly, referring to Marissa's attitude. Her reaction to the only other girl he had ever brought home, namely Sam, was similar to what he figured it would be if he had befriended a cannibalistic serial killer.

* * *

After Sam's phone was charged, she and Kelly said their goodbyes and each went to wait by their departure gates. Sam watched TV until she saw the same news report three times and was bored out of her mind. She bought and read a couple of Hollywood gossip magazines and began feeling a little sleepy. She put her head down on her bag and tried to get some rest. Before she drifted off to sleep, she began to think about why both Freddie and Melanie would be out of reach at the same time. What could they be doing that caused them to miss or ignore her calls? Thoughts of them, wrapped around each other, deep in a heavy make out session came to mind. Or maybe they had been out somewhere having dinner, a nice, romantic Christmas Eve dinner. Or maybe they simply stole away to a bedroom and forgot the rest of the world existed.

"Ahhh, stop it, Puckett!" She said aloud to herself, causing several people near her to look at her like she was crazy. She looked at the time: 3:55 am. In a little over an hour, her flight would be boarding.

* * *

Somewhere between 'It's a wonderful life' and 'Scrooged', Freddie and Melanie drifted off to sleep. Just before four am, Freddie woke with a jolt, like he had been slapped on the back of the head. He looked to his left. Melanie was asleep, her head nestled between his shoulder and the back of the sofa. Their fingers were still intertwined and her right ankle was draped over his left. It felt so good to be snuggled up to Melanie, she's almost perfect, but something felt a little off about it, too. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Freddie extricated himself from the blonde and pulled a throw from his mother's rocker and covered her with it and, after turning off the lights and TV, kissed her goodnight on the top of her head. He quietly went to his room and changed into his pajamas and slipped into bed. Before falling asleep, he kept thinking of what happened to Sam and how she could have forgotten him on Christmas eve and how maybe this was a sign. A sign that maybe this thing with Melanie was meant to be pursued. He thought that maybe tomorrow he would tell Melanie how he felt about her and see where it led. If Sam really and truly cared about him, would she have stood him up and just forgot all about him like she did?

Melanie awoke in a little while and quietly left the Benson's apartment, careful not to wake anyone. She went across the hall to Spencer's and up the stairs to Carly's bedroom. She had no trouble falling back asleep, thinking about how much she liked Freddie and how much she enjoyed being close to him. Truth is, she hadn't been this close to a guy in a long time and she was quickly developing a lot of feeling for the brown eyed young man. No doubt about it, if they hadn't fallen asleep watching those movies, there would have been a very nice good night kiss tonight for him.

The blonde felt very rested when she woke Christmas morning, got cleaned up, dressed and went back across the hall to the Benson's in the late morning. Passing through Spencer's living room, she didn't notice Freddie's phone had vibrated itself off the coffee table and onto the floor from Sam calling it so often. Hers had been left in the pocket of the sweater she had worn the evening before and was now draped over the back of Carly's desk chair, still turned off, of course.

* * *

Sam's flight into Denver was uneventful and as soon as she was off the plane, she resumed calling Freddie and Melanie, but again got no answer from either of them. Now she was sure he was mad and had to be just ignoring her, maybe he had even blocked her calls from ringing all together. This was not looking good and the knot in her stomach grew tighter by the hour. Now she sat in another boring airport waiting for her flight to Seattle to leave. With little spending money, she had a few snacks and tried to not die of boredom watching airport TV, which was news and sappy, old holiday movies. She tried to convince herself that this trip was not going to be the biggest mistake of her life, but it was getting harder and harder.

**So next chapter will be it (I think, unless I decide to do an alternate ending). But we'll definitely see if Sam makes it back to Seattle and what happens next with the aspiring couple.**


	6. Chapter 6

**OK, so this is it, final chapter. Read to the end and the ending A/N, too if you would, please.**

Chapter 6

Christmas morning, Marissa was in the kitchen getting her dinner started when the doorbell rang. She greeted Melanie at the door and invited her to sit and wait while Freddie finished getting ready.

"I don't know why Fredward's been such a sleepy head lately. It's not like him to stay in bed so late, he's always been an early bird."

"That may be my fault, I've been keeping him going a lot this week." Melanie confessed shyly. "We've just been having such a good time getting to know each other."

"You must both get your rest, dear. It's not healthy to be tired." Marissa smiled. "But I understand, you'll soon be going back to your school and you want to spend as much time together as you can. You know, I'm very happy to see how you have made Freddie come out of his shell."

Melanie just smiled back at Marissa, she didn't need the reminder that her time with Freddie was limited, but with time so limited, Melanie saw no reason for them to each be so shy about their feelings toward each other. After all, she was getting along well with his mother and as a couple, they really seemed to be hitting it off.

Freddie soon came out the hall and was greeted by hugs from both his mother and Melanie. Marissa had a huge smile on her face when she saw how happy he looked when in the blonde's embrace. If this went well, he'd be free of Sam's influence forever and, by extension, Marissa wouldn't have to worry about him ever getting back together with 'the demon'. Besides, this girl was almost perfect and she wouldn't mind her being in Freddie's life.

The three opened their Christmas gifts and shared a nice holiday together. Melanie even enjoyed Marissa's tofurkey casserole, though Freddie could barely choke it down. After the meal, Marissa chased the two college students into the living room while she straightened up the kitchen and put away leftovers, claiming they needed some time alone. She was clearly trying to push them together and Freddie could see this from a mile away. Mel didn't mind and took advantage of the opportunity to sit close to him on the couch.

"What do you say we go for a walk? You know, maybe stop at the Chinese place down by the park." He asked Melanie quietly after about twenty minutes of small talk.

"I guess I could go for some wonton soup. You know, you wouldn't be hungry if you would have eaten what your mom made. It really wasn't that bad." Mel told him as they sat there together.

"I must have had the part without the flavor." Freddie remarked with a smirk before getting up and going back to the kitchen. "Mom, Mel and I are going out for a walk."

"Don't forget your scarf and don't stay out too late. You need your rest. You wouldn't want to get sick and miss spending time with your new friend, would you."

"Mom, it's three-thirty in the afternoon." Freddie said with a roll of his eyes which went unnoticed my his mother.

"Well, have a good time, dears. And remember we still have dessert for later."

Freddie and Melanie walked the four blocks from Bushwell to the park. They stopped and watched some kids playing on the swings and jungle gym, their hands intertwined before going inside for some warm food just as the snow began to fall.

Melanie and Freddie sat in the small, corner booth of the Chinese restaurant. Melanie sipping at her soup while Freddie dug into a big plate of his favorite Chinese dish, orange chicken, and an egg roll.

"Listen, Mels, I'm sorry about my mom. She means well, but I guess your sister and Carly are right, she is kind of crazy."

"It's OK, Freddie, your mom's really nice. I guess that was kind of an odd meal for a holiday, but she means well. Look at what my mom pulled. Of course, that's nothing new for her. I missed a lot of her antics, but Sam used to fill me in on the stuff she pulled and it was terrible. My sister is a hand full, but I still felt so sorry for her when we were growing up, especially after I left home."

"Yeah, I know she'd skin me for pitying her, but I always felt sorry for the kind of chiz Sam had to put up with from your mom, no offense. There was this one time when Sam and I were dating that Pam actually ran off for a couple of weeks with some guy she met online. Sam wound up staying with Carly because they shut off the power and water at the house."

"I never heard about that one. Jeez, that's terrible. Hey, can I maybe try a bite of your orange chicken, it smells so good. I just love Chinese food, but I hate to go out for it by myself when I'm back at school because none of my friends like it."

"Sure, Mel." Freddie stuck a bite on his fork and held it across the table to the blonde. She accepted his offering and giggled after she took the bite as she never had a guy feed her before. She was definitely falling him and it was obvious he was falling for her. "This is my favorite, it's actually how I learned to eat broccoli, Spencer and I eat here a couple of times a week, he loves their noodles, can't get enough of them. You know, I've really been having fun with you, Melanie. It's too bad you'll be going back to the east coast after the new year. I wish we had some more time together."

"I know, Freddie. You're such a great guy. I wish we had a little more time together, too." Deep down inside she was wondering why her sister had such a hard time making a commitment to her true feelings for someone as nice as him. 'Oh well, her loss.' Melanie thought to herself. 'I'm not letting this opportunity pass me by if I can help it.'

As they walked out of the restaurant, the snow was beginning to lay on the sidewalks and the clean, fresh look of the city topped off what had, to this point been a nice Christmas. They walked down the street again holding hands and headed back for the apartment building after throwing a few snow balls at each other playfully.

* * *

Sam had boarded her second flight and kept trying to call Seattle until she was told for the third time by the flight attendant that she had to turn off her phone so they could prepare to take off. The weather forced the plane to be late arriving into Seattle and Sam had to wait nearly 45 minutes to get a cab away from the airport. By now it was getting dark and she was getting more and more anxious to get to Bushwell plaza. She had depleted her phone's battery from making so many unsuccessful calls by this time and kept goading the cab driver to go faster, despite the fresh falling snow.

* * *

Meanwhile, Melanie and Freddie returned to Bushwell and Melanie suggested they stop in Spencer's apartment for a few minutes before going back to Marissa's for dessert. Feeling a little bold, she invited him to join her on the sofa. "Let's just sit here and snuggle in the glow of Spencer's Christmas lights for a little bit. It's nice to have the place to ourselves."

She didn't have to invite Freddie twice. He was all too happy to snuggle up with her. They were having such a good time together, it was something he couldn't resist. Freddie stepped between the coffee table and the couch when he kicked into something. He bent over to pick it up. "Hmm, I must have dropped my phone over here last evening, I hope I didn't miss any calls."

"I guess I had you too distracted to even realize you dropped it." Mel flirted and patted the spot beside her. "Sorry about that."

"Heh, yeah I guess so." Freddie said, blushing as he sat down. He scrolled to his missed calls screen as he sat down beside Melanie. "Wow, this thing says I missed 188 calls! Holy chiz!"

By now, Melanie was more interested in snuggling with a warm guy than watching him play with his phone. Just as he was starting to go through the list, she took the phone from his hands and placed it on the coffee table. Freddie was about to complain, but figured he'd just go with the moment. After all, it had been ages since he was this close to a girl and his desire for the beautiful blonde beside him was now overriding all logic. Melanie snuggled her head into him and he instinctively placed his arm around her shoulders. Smelling her hair and her body so close to his almost drove him insane.

Melanie was willing to let herself be vulnerable despite knowing that in ten days, Freddie and her would be three thousand miles apart. He, too, was beginning to come around to the idea that maybe they should try to be a couple even if it meant doing so long distance. He had long since pressed Spencer's advice of 'not doing anything he'd regret' out of his mind.

"What are you thinking about, Freddie?" She asked, now tickling her fingers over his chest toward his other arm, coming closer to him with her body.

"Um, just wondering uh, what's next. I mean for us." He responded. "Sorry, that sounded kind of nubby, didn't it?"

"No, just honest." Melanie responded, straightening herself up and looking at him. "I know what I'd like to do next." She licked at her lips to moisten them.

Freddie knew what this meant and was preparing himself for what was sure to come next. As the two drew closer together, out of the corner of his eye, Freddie could see his phone sitting there with Sam's number listed on the scroll of missed calls over and over and over. The young man closed his eyes and he could feel the warmth of Melanie's face close to his.

* * *

Sam hopped out of the cab with her backpack, handed the driver what was left of her money and sprinted toward the door of the Bushwell building. She nearly knocked Lewbert over, who was sweeping the snow off the sidewalk, wearing a long, dark gray overcoat.

"Watch where you're going! Hey, how did you get back outside? I just saw you going upstairs not ten minutes ago. And wipe your feet!" He squawked at her, but she didn't pay any attention to him as she crossed the lobby and began feverishly pressing the elevator call button.

The elevator showed it was on the fifth floor and headed up, so she simply took to the steps and began running upstairs, taking two at a time. When she reached the sixth floor, she was beginning to feel a bit winded. A couple of minutes later, she emerged from the stairwell on the eighth floor and began running toward Freddie's door. Gasping for breath, she rounded the corner and ran smack into another person, both of them falling over backwards.

"*Gasp*Watch where *Gasp* you're going *Gasp* dipwad!"

"Sam? Is that really you?" Freddie asked sitting up on his backside as she scrambled to her knees.

"Freddie!" Sam screeched and propelled herself toward him.

The two ended up with him flat on his back, her lips on his, right outside his mother's apartment door.

"Oh my God, Sam! What are you doing here?" He said as their lips parted after a full two minutes of feverish kissing.

"I had to see you for Christmas. I'm sorry, Freddie. I-I shouldn't have been so stupid. What I mean is, I love you, I-I know I should have said something before, but I'm such a dork I couldn't say it, but I'm saying it now, I love you, Fredward Benson. I love you, I love you, I love you!"

With that, Freddie captured her lips with his and the two again began kissing like their lives depended on it. "Me, too, Princess." He moaned between kisses into her open mouth. "Me, too."

Marissa opened her door. "What on earth is going on out here, what's all the ruckus about?" She cackled as she saw the young couple lying on the hallway floor. For all she knew at that exact moment, the blonde haired girl making out with her little Freddiebear was Melanie and she was appalled to see them like that.

"Fredward Benson! Melanie Puckett! Control yourselves!" She began to chastise them. "There are children living in this building!"

Hearing all the commotion, Melanie opened Spencer's door to witness the guy who, for some unknown reason, couldn't bring himself to kiss her not five minutes earlier, making out with her twin sister like there was no tomorrow. 'Checkmate, Sam, you win.' Mel said quietly with a smile.

Melanie wasn't upset at all. For some reason she couldn't explain, she was happy for her sister and the young man she had almost fallen for in the throes of a passionate reunion. It was almost a relief to see them together, despite how she had begun to feel for him. After all, they had loved each other for so long, it would be a crime to come between them. 'About time you came to your senses, Sis.' Mel thought.

Marissa looked up to see Melanie standing in the doorway across from hers with a smirk on her face. "Melanie? If-if that's you then-aaahhwwww, what the yuck?!" The woman now knew very well who the blonde was astride her only son, but couldn't bring herself to let her mind process the information.

"Hey, Crazy, How's it hangin'?" Sam said, separating her lips from Freddie's and looking up at the middle aged woman.

"Oh, God, it's the demon!" Marissa said before fainting and falling over backwards into the doorway.

"I, uh actually have something for you. Come on in and I'll get it." Freddie now helped his barely conscious mother up and over to her favorite chair, with one hand still holding Sam's. He reached under the Christmas tree and picked up a small package, neatly wrapped in purple and silver paper, which had been hidden by the white cotton tree skirt.

Sam wasted no time in unwrapping the box and putting on her new necklace. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he placed his hands at her waist. "I love it, Freddie, but I didn't get you anything." She said with a frown, looking up at him.

"Yes you did." He responded, pulling her into a passionate kiss. "And it's what I've wanted for a long time."

A week later, Sam headed back to L.A., but not until she and Freddie laid all their cards on the table and let their true feeling for each other be known. One thing was for certain, their year ended differently than it began and the two 'rang in the new year' in their own special way. For the next eight months, the two maintained a long distance relationship and visited each other several times.

* * *

The long distance thing proved to be short lived because the next summer, Sam moved back to Seattle after Cat left for college. She started a business keeping kids with Spencer and Gibby's mom. She and Freddie moved into an empty apartment on the sixth floor of Bushwell shortly after that, despite Marissa's protests.

Two years later, Freddie graduated from Seattle University and immediately got a job with Pear designing software just as he had always dreamed of. Sam and Mrs. Gibson bought out Spencer's share of the business when he landed a job teaching art at Seattle U and the two women began to franchise their operation all across Seattle.

Melanie wasn't single and lonely for long, she started dating a guy from her college right after returning from Christmas break, they both graduated the same year as Freddie and got engaged later that summer. She and Sam grew closer than ever and they call or Skype at least once a week.

The following Christmas, on the third anniversary of the day they got back together, Freddie proposed to Sam. It was perfect timing because Carly had come home for a visit and was there to witness their engagement. They got married the next summer in a little country chapel, just like the one in Sam's dream. Carly and Melanie were co-maids of honor and Gibby was Freddie's best man. They even invited Lewbert to their wedding but only because, despite his being weird, Freddie insisted that it would be rude to leave him out.

**Hope everyone liked it, I was originally toying with the idea of ending with Freddie and Melanie getting together, but seriously, how cruel would that be for Sam. And yes, the part of her confessing her love to Freddie _may_ seen out of character, but I like to think that as these people age, they grow out of some of their adolescent/young teen characteristics, but still retain the core of their personality.**

**And for the Frelanie fans who are upset, there's an alternate ending in chapter 7. If you don't want to see Freddie and Melanie end up together, just skip it. If you like the idea, go ahead and read it.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**This short chapter is the alternate ending for anyone who was hoping to see Freddie and Melanie end up together. I really hate to think of a universe where Sam and Freddie don't end up together, but this is the next best thing (especially since Jenette plays both girls anyway) Don't get me wrong, I really like the Melanie character, but I have trouble seeing Freddie with a girly-girl like her or Carly rather than Sam. **

(Picks up when Freddie and Melanie return to Spencer's apartment.)

Melanie didn't have to invite Freddie to the sofa twice. He was all too happy to snuggle up with her. They were having such a good time together it was something he couldn't resist. Freddie stepped between the coffee table and the couch when he kicked into something. He bent over to pick it up. "Hmm, I must have dropped my phone over here last evening, I hope I didn't miss any calls."

"I guess I had you too distracted to even realize you dropped it." Mel flirted and patted the spot beside her. "Sorry about that."

"Heh, yeah I guess so." Freddie said, blushing as he sat down. He scrolled to his missed calls screen as he sat down beside Melanie. "Wow, this thing says I missed 188 calls! Holy chiz!"

By now, Melanie was more interested in snuggling with a warm guy than watching him play with his phone. Just as he was starting to go through the list, Melanie took the phone from his hands and placed it on the coffee table. Freddie was about to complain, but figured he'd just go with the moment. After all, it had been ages since he was this close to a girl and his desire for the beautiful blonde beside him was now overriding all logic. Melanie snuggled her head into his chest and he instinctively placed his arm around her shoulders. Smelling her hair and her hand rubbing his bicep almost drove him insane.

Melanie was willing to let herself be vulnerable despite knowing that in ten days, Freddie and her would be three thousand miles apart. He, too, was beginning to come around to the idea that maybe they should try to be a couple even if it meant doing so long distance. He had long since pressed Spencer's advice of 'not doing anything he'd regret' out of his mind.

"What are you thinking about, Freddie?" She asked, now tickling her fingers over his chest toward his other arm, coming closer to him with her body.

"Um, just wondering uh, what's next. I mean for us." He responded. "Sorry, that sounded kind of nubby, didn't it?"

"No, just honest." Melanie responded, straightening herself up and looking at him. "I know what I'd like to do next." She licked at her lips to moisten them.

Freddie knew what this meant and was preparing himself for what was sure to come next. As the two drew closer together, out of the corner of his eye, Freddie could see his phone sitting there with Sam's number listed on the scroll of missed calls over and over and over. The young man closed his eyes and he could feel the warmth of Melanie's face close to his.

As their lips touched, Freddie felt sparks that he thought we not possible with any girl but Sam. Their aching for each other was overriding all else and their hands hesitantly explored areas of each other which had been untouched for a long time. By the time their kiss ended, several minutes passed and the two were nearly out of breath.

"Whoa." Freddie mumbled under his breath.

"You said it." Melanie replied and laid her head on his shoulder. She had kissed other guys and even had a couple of fairly serious boyfriends over the years, but she never felt anything like she was feeling at the moment for the brown haired boy seated beside her.

As much as he wanted to continue kissing Melanie, Freddie knew his mother would go completely insane it they didn't soon come home for dessert. Besides, if they didn't take a break, it's hard to tell how far they would go.

"I-uh, guess we should soon go back over for dessert, maybe we could continue this later?" He suggested hoping she'd say yes with every pore of his being.

"Sure, but can I ask you something before we go?"

"Mm-hmm." He replied kissing the top of her head.

"So do you think maybe um, tomorrow we could do something as like, boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"I'd really like that, Mels. I'd really like that." He took her hand in his and again kissed her lips softly.

After a few minutes, the two stood up to go to the Benson's and Freddie picked up his phone from where Melanie had deposited it earlier.

"So did you ever figure out who were all those calls from?" She asked. "I hope it wasn't your mom and she's upset or anything."

He again began to scroll through the call list. "Looks like they're all from Sam. Geez, I hope she's not in trouble or anything. I wonder if she's alright."

"Guess we should call her back and see what happened last night, you know just to be sure she's ok." Mel added. She also knew that keeping the news of their relationship a secret would lead to hard feelings, so she decided she'd privately call Sam and talk to her about it. Melanie accepted the fact that her and Sam's relationship was estranged at best, but she didn't want to see Sam and Freddie's friendship ruined. If Mel broke the news to her, Sam would vent any frustrations she had on her instead of her new boyfriend.

* * *

Sam hopped out of the cab with her backpack, handed the driver what was left of her money and sprinted toward the door of the Bushwell building. She nearly knocked Lewbert over, who was sweeping the snow off the sidewalk, wearing a long, dark gray overcoat.

"Watch where you're going! Hey, how did you get back outside? I just saw you going upstairs not ten minutes ago. And wipe your feet!" He squawked at her, but she didn't pay any attention to him as she crossed the lobby and began feverishly pressing the elevator call button.

She soon grew impatient and decided to take the stairs. Flight by flight, she made her way to the eighth floor, and when she stepped out of the stairwell and rounded the corner, she immediately noticed Spencer's door was open. In a brief second, her heart dropped as she saw the boy she loved since tenth grade step into the hallway holding hands with none other than her twin sister. It was apparent that she was too late, they had already grown close and by the way Mel was hanging on him, they were, undeniably, a couple.

Poor Sam never wished for anything more than to become invisible at that very second, but before she could retreat back around the corner and into the stairwell to cry her eyes out, she was spotted by her twin.

"Sammy?" Mel inquired.

"Oh-uh, hey, Mels. Hey Freddie." Sam replied, noticing the two had quickly left go of one another.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" Freddie asked as Mel hugged her sister and he hesitantly went in for a hug himself.

"Well, I thought I'd surprise you with a Christmas visit. So-um-Surprise!" Sam tried to cover the reason she was there, but her sister saw through it, even though Freddie seemed oblivious.

"So I'm guessing this is why we couldn't reach you all night, you were on your way to Seattle?" He asked. "Hey, we were just going to my place for some dessert, want to join us? I'd offer you leftovers from dinner, but I doubt you'd want any."

"Uh-no, that's OK. I'll just pop in and say hi to Spencer." Sam was beginning to retreat and Mel knew it. If she didn't stop her, Sam would be back in L.A. in a heartbeat and neither of them would probably ever see her again. At least she didn't seem to be angry with either of them, or at least she wasn't showing it.

"He's in Yakima visiting his Grandpa. Melanie made the dessert, not my mom, so it's actually edible." Freddie explained with his signature smirk.

"Oh, uh, OK, sure. I-um guess I'll come along, unless you think your mom will have a coronary or something." She tried to joke. "She probably still hates me for the whole tuna thing when you were in L.A."

"Freddie, why don't you go and tell your mom you'll have another guest and give us a minute?" Mel suggested. Meaning, go make sure your mom doesn't go off her tree while I have a heart to heart with my sister.

As Freddie went into the apartment, Mel turned to Sam. "Sammy, I need to tell you something." She was literally shaking, not that she felt guilty, it's not like Sam and Freddie were actually together but she knew Sam could be prone to bouts of being unreasonable and she didn't want there to be trouble. Trouble between friends, trouble between exes, trouble between sisters, Melanie just wanted everyone to get along.

"No need, Mels. I saw you guys holding hands. I know, I'm too late." A bit of moisture began to form at Sam's left eye. "It's my own stupid fault. If I would have just had the guts to tell him how I felt but I had to be all tough an-and . . ." Tears now ran down Sam's face. "I mean, when we hung out together, when he came to L.A., I should have just said something, but my damn pride got in the way."

"I'm sorry, Sam. But this whole thing just sort of happened." Melanie took her hands. "It's obvious Freddie misses you and I know neither of us started off intending for this thing to go the way it did, but after we spent so much time together it just started to feel so right. Heck, Sam, you know what Freddie's like. He's funny and charming an-and it's been so long since I was close to a guy. We both really needed each other, Sammy so please don't be upset."

"Yeah, we've both sort of been on a dry spell." Sam chuckled as she wiped at her eyes. "Guess yours is over, now."

"I want you to promise me something, Sam. And this isn't just a promise or a sister thing, it's a twin promise."

"What is it?"

"Don't take this out on Freddie. I mean, don't let this ruin your friendship. You guys have been friends for years and I'd hate myself if you guys lost that. Besides, who knows, him and I . . . as much as I hate to admit it, the long distance relationship thing scares the chiz out of me. We're sisters, we'll have arguments and squabbles but in the end, we'll still be sisters and love each other. The friendship you have with Freddie is like, a once in a lifetime thing, don't let it end."

Sam just nodded in agreement. "But I need you to promise me something, too, Mels. And not just a promise, a twin promise."

"OK." Melanie answered quietly.

"You won't toy with his feelings. I know you Melanie Ann Puckett, you're as fickle as the day is long and I've literally loved Freddie for years. Please don't hurt him. I know, he tries to act all macho and stuff, but he's fragile, too. And he deserves a girl who's gonna treat him right. And if you break his heart, twin or not, I've got a butter sock with your name on it."

"We're going to take it slow, Sam, I promise, and if it doesn't feel right, I'll tell him and we'll be adults about it."

"Deal." Sam answered. "Now, what did you make for dessert?"

Melanie giggled at her sister's incessant hunger and the two went into the Benson's apartment to sit down to their dessert with Freddie and Marissa.

**OK, So I'll leave it up to you to decide for yourself if Melanie and Freddie can make a go of the long distance thing. And, yes, I know Sam took it well, I just didn't want to end the story with anyone hating anyone. Keep your eye out for a Freddie/Twinny thing coming soon.**


End file.
